Norman Mailer, from "Part II: Friday Afternoon" of The Armies of the Night
1. In the opening sentence of this chapter, the narrator says, "To write an intimate history of an event which places its focus on a central figure who is not central to the event, is to inspire immediate questions about the competence of the historian." To what extent in this excerpt does the narrator anticipate these questions and address them satisfactorily? Which questions are ignored or dismissed?
2. Describe the elements of the narrator's voice: tone, style, point of view, and diction. How do these elements complement or contrast with the actual content of the voice?
3. Explore the distinction between the two sections of the excerpt, as alluded to by the subheads "The Historian" and "The Citizen." Discuss the commentary Mailer is offering on the various selves that a single narrator can become in a given work or in a given event.